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The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers urged the Legislature to take action.
Due to low compensation rates causing bar advocates to decline court-appointed cases, Massachusetts is facing a surge of unrepresented defendants in what the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers described as a “full-blown constitutional breakdown.”
The association announced Monday that more than 150 people in Boston alone are awaiting their appointments of court-assigned attorneys, and nearly 40 are being held in custody without a lawyer. In Middlesex County, 16 people are being held without lawyers and 90 people are awaiting appointments.
“The right to counsel is not a luxury,” said MACDL President Shira Diner. “It is a bedrock principle of our justice system, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment and by Article 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. When people are jailed without lawyers, the system ceases to be just—or constitutional.”
Bar advocates, independent attorneys who are contracted by the state to represent indigent defendants in criminal cases, have been refusing to take on additional cases due to compensation rates that the MACDL said “lag far behind those in neighboring states.”
It reported an exodus of experienced attorneys as well as an inability to recruit new ones because of the pay structure. Because Massachusetts law dictates that individuals held in custody for more than a week without representation may be released, the result is that courts must choose between violating a person’s constitutional rights or releasing them without due process.
“Neither outcome is acceptable in a society that claims to value justice,” Diner said. “People accused of crimes are sitting in jail cells without a lawyer. Others are missing crucial opportunities to gather necessary evidence and are left with nothing but uncertainty.”
Expressing appreciation to members of the Massachusetts Legislature who have acknowledged the need for increased funding, the association urged the Legislature to immediately stabilize and repair the indigent defense system.
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